An unrepentant Fern Britton has finally come clean to the viewing public after it was revealed she had lied about how she achieved her massive weight loss.

She had claimed her new slimline figure was down to healthy eating and sheer hard work.

But today on This Morning, Fern dismissed the furore, and insisted she DIDN'T lie, and said 'there are some things a girl likes to keep to herself'.

Unrepentant: Fern Britton, seen in London filming today was defiant over the revelation that she kept her gastric band op secret - and insisted she didn't lie

Yesterday Fern, 50, was forced to admit her svelte look was in fact the result of the gastric band surgery.

She said she was credited with making sweeping statements about her weight-loss, but that what she had said was that she was eating healthily and exercising, which was not untrue.

Fern explained to the This Morning audience that she was forced to come clean after her representative - who didn't know she had had the operation - called her to say that the News of the World were going to run a story on her having had a gastric band operation.

He then told Fern: 'How preposterous is that?'

She then admitted to her agent: 'Well actually it's not preposterous because I have had it done'.

Coming clean: This Morning pesenter Fern Britton explained on today's show 'there are some things a girl likes to keep to herself' as the reason why she kept it secret that she had a gastric band fitted two years ago

Coming clean: This Morning pesenter Fern Britton explained on today's show 'there are some things a girl likes to keep to herself' as the reason why she kept it secret that she had a gastric band fitted two years ago

'But I would just like to clear something up. Yes, yes, two years ago I had a gastric band, and do you know what I did it for me, because I wanted to.

'I didn't feel that I had the need to ring around and let everyone know, in fact only five people knew, including my husband obviously.

'So then all the magazine's started printing all these articles saying all this stuff and a lot of it was not actually from my lips.

'So anything you've read that has anything I've said about image, diet, bla bla bla, I haven't said. Because I've very carefully for the last two years said yes I eat less and exercise more which is absolutely true.'

Hungry: Contrite Fern told Philip she was hungry when he asked her how she was

Hungry: Contrite Fern told Philip she was hungry when he asked her how she was

Then, the typically giggly presenter made light of the situation, quipping: 'Please tell me we've got cake on the show because I need fattening up'.

By now she seemed exasperated at having to make such a public announcement and joked: 'The next time I have a facelift or have haemorrhoids I will let you know.'

One viewer however remained incensed at her failure to come clean from the outset:

'She's a liar because the only reason she's admitted it, is because she was going to be exposed anyway. She said she lost the weight through diet and exercise, when she clearly didn't.'

However, the presenter who is married to celebrity chef Phil Vickery, has in the past denied having surgery to help her lose weight, saying it was 'a lot of hard work'.

And her representative told the Daily Mail at the time: 'Fern is happy to say that her weight loss is a consequence of healthy diet and exercise.'

Admission: Fern was forced to admit she had a gastric band fitted two years. The picture on the right shows how she looked in 2006

But after a newspaper exposed her secret, she admitted in a statement: 'As I know, many people are interested in my weight loss of the past two years. As interest is so high I'm making public, as a personal choice, that I had a gastric band operation two years ago.

'I did this purely for myself and I would not wish to influence others to do the same. But for me it has worked and I am very pleased with the results.'

The 50-year-old presenter, has dropped from a size 22 to a size 16 after losing around 5st due to the gastric banding operation.

The surgery involves placing a band around the top of the stomach, which limits the amount of food a person can eat.

On average, most patients will lose half their excess weight within two years

Meanwhile, the popular presenter is now facing the sack from Ryvita who reportedly paid her £200,000 a year to be the face of the health food crackers advertising campaign, which has the slogan, "Britton Loves Ryvita".

Facing the axe: Fern is now facing the axe from advertising health food Ryvita

Facing the axe: Fern is now facing the axe from advertising health food Ryvita

One advertising expert said she now risks being dropped by Ryvita as the head of its Bikini Fit Challenge.

He added: "Ryvita won't be happy - they can't have their brand tainted by a lie."

Fern, who co-presents This Morning, has appeared as herself in advertisements for Ryvita Minis, with one of them showing her head superimposed on the body of a slim woman in her dressing room.

Someone then comes in to dress Fern in a fat suit, before she heads out to the studio.

Former daytime TV presenter Anne Diamond, who was forced to leave the reality show Celebrity Fit Club after complaints that her undeclared gastric band gave her an unfair advantage, today came out in Britton's defence.